Category: 2008 caucus (Page 2 of 2)

Democrats do worse than Republicans in caucus site location in Washington State, so says this guy:

OK! We’re in business. And here tis: 46-2228 meets at Wilson Pacific School. That only took three websites and a boatload of errors to pull off.

Nice going on being “user-friendly,” Dems. It’s not like 80% OF THIS TOWN isn’t going to be USING THE WEB to try to find a DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS. I mean, what TRUE BLEEDIN’ HEART LIBERAL would EVER USE THE WEB? I mean, it’s not like they ever blog or use it to do grassroots organization. Heck, the special interest groups that are associated with the party, like pro-choice orgs and environmental groups, THEY DON’T EVEN HAVE WEBSITES!

Obama, Mary, and Joseph and all the angels and saints! It’s TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT ALREADY. DO YOU EVEN THINK TO DO A LICK OF ERROR CHECKING? HELL, THE STUPID FORM PAGE ISN’T EVEN ACCESSIBLE OR STANDARDS COMPLIANT AND IT’S THROWING A JAVASCRIPT ERROR.

Hmm. Inaccessible, not standards compliant, and throwing a JavaScript error. Now there’s an attack ad waiting to happen. But let’s see if the GOP can do any better with their search first.

I didn’t have the same problems this guy did, but that said, he’s also more intelligent than most folks that are going to be looking for their caucuses because a) he knew his precinct number and b) he knew what he was looking at and for when he scoured the party websites. That he’s bummed about of web caucus efforts means a lot.

The Kistap Sun wonders about if things are settled out by February 9, whether there will be any attraction to taking two hours out of your Saturday to express your views on a done deal.

But, with the expected high turn out an essential element of a plan by the state party to recruit a bunch of new volunteer foot soldiers, will bad turn-out to the caucuses hurt the governor’s re-election campaign?

DWE spells it out pretty clearly:

February 5th is the day of a slew of state primaries…what Dwight Pelz calls Stupid Tuesday. On Tuesday February 5th, the field will be substantially narrowed. It may even be that one candidate gets enough votes to effectively end the nominating process.

A done-deal nomination would be bad for party activists because it would let the air out of the excitement around the caucuses. All of us will by then have put in hours of planning and spent lots of money preparing for the caucuses. If we get low turnout, we will miss the chance to recruit new folks into the party. We will miss the chance to meet the “Challenge from the Chair” of getting an increase in voter turnout. I also shudder to think of the money we might lose.

Last year, state chair Pelz was puttering around the state, promoting his Challenge from the Chair, a plan to recruit folks out of the caucuses, engage them in the party and in the governor’s campaign and get so many new Gregoire voters in each county.

No matter what sort of name calling Pelz uses on the February 5 contests, if one campaigns wins out on the 5th and no one shows up here on the 9th, his plan to recruit a bunch of new folks look pretty bad. Or, if it goes, three ways, he looks like a genius. Either way, its a bit scary for me.